Alright, Alright, Alright: The Oral History of Richard Linklater’s Dazed and Confused

“Richard Linklater focused not on the things that alienate teenagers but on the qualities that quietly unify them: boredom, horniness, a lack of power, fear of rejection, and the endless optimism that, once night falls, something cool might happen.

I’m sure the oral history from behind the scenes of every movie you’ve ever enjoyed would make for a good article, but not necessarily a good book. A good book needs a three-act structure, and arcs for its story and its characters.

DAZED AND CONFUSED is a perfect fit as a book of oral history, because the three acts and the arcs are baked right into the dough:
1) Hot indie filmmaker gets his first shot at a studio production; 2) How did that go? and 3) How did it affect his career after? Also 1) A bunch of young actors, mostly from New York and Los Angeles, are assembled and brought together in Texas for several weeks; 2) How crazy did all that isolated immaturity and hormonality get? And 3) How did that experience affect their lives and careers after?

All compelling questions, and all thoroughly and entertainingly unpacked.

Melissa Maerz, a veteran entertainment journalist, knows how rich her material and structure is, and wisely steps out of the frame after establishing each shot (chapter). Like with a film, the secret to a good book of oral history is as much in what you leave out as what you put in. And Maerz proves to be an instinctive expert hand at this, making the reading feel freewheeling, like a good drunk dorm-room bull session but never out of control, like a bad drunk dorm-room bull session. When listening to hours upon hours of recorded conversations, this can be a far more difficult undertaking than it seems.

DAZED director Richard Linklater, thirty-one when he made the movie, comes across as a complicated but ultimately sympathetic figure and thoughtful figure, constantly trying to walk fine lines between his inherent conflicts: hewing to his own vision while trying to accept sometimes stultifying studio oversight as the price of getting the movie made, for example. Then hes got to walk the equally intimidating tightrope of giving his young, sometimes distracted actors room to express their true selves freely and grow in their art while keeping them wrangled enough to get through a days shooting on time and under budget. And he tries hard to stay true to his teenage experiences while not angering the people he grew up and cares about, people whose personalities informed those of the movies characters to the point that he borrowed their real names for the movie.

It all worked, except when it didnt. One of ALRIGHT ALRIGHT ALRIGHTs great sections is about how he was sued, a decade after the films 1993 release, the real-life Wooderson, Slater and Pink Floyd sued Linklater who using their characters with compensation or permission. As it turns out, they werent really angry about that as they were that they hadnt gotten any money from DAZED AND CONFUSED. And, as befits their characters, they got drunk one day and egged each other on into it. Their case, predictably, went nowhere, and one of the best parts of the book is each admitting to Maerz that suing Linklater was pretty stupid, that it earned them a lot of justified scorn, and hey, no hard feelings, we just took a shot at a score, you know?

If you have friends who are writers, buckle up, Linklater tells Maerz. Youre going to find yourself as some kind of a character in someone elses story, and it can be unnerving, how youre characterized in someone elses thing. Were all aghast when we see what a small part we play in other peoples lives. Were all the lead character in our own lives, and were only supporting characters in other peoples lives, and that hurts.

Other chapters have that same feeling of We Mostly Had A Blast But Heres What I Wish I Knew Then What I Know Now. You know, sort of like how we look back on high school, and on the 1970s. Theres one that should be titled How Not to Be a Future Star, about one of the two cast members who didnt play well with others: Shawn Andrews, who played Kevin Pickford in DAZED. The recollections are as short and slashing as razor swipes. Said Jason London: Theres a reason we all called him Prickford. And, of course, the Who Hooked Up With Who and Who Still Pines For Who material is too juicy to resist.

Another chapter deals with the bittersweet career trajectories of DAZEDs cast members. Few of the cast members pegged as breakout stars (Jason London, Rory Cochrane, Michelle Burke) hit anything resembling those heights. The biggest star going in, Milla Jovovich, hit a rough patch after her role was minimized in the movie in the wake of poor cast citizenship (she took up with Shawn Andrews during filming, even marrying him briefly later, and the two isolated from the others). Few would have guessed on the first day on the set that Ben Affleck and Matthew McConaughey would be the future superstars.

To this day, there is resentment and bewilderment over how things turned out for some. And no small measure of pathos. In the afterword, Esteban Powell, who played Carl Burnett, says he trolls the internet for low-paying jobs to make up for his lack of health insurance.

I could go on and on, but the bottom line is this: DAZED AND CONFUSED is a great movie. And ALRIGHT ALRIGHT ALRIGHT is a great book in the same way: wise, stoned, sober, thoughtful either way, funny as hell, bittersweet. Like life. Or maybe just how we choose to remember it. As Maerz points out: Thats just the way nostalgia works: It is not a collection of memories, but a reinvention of memory itself. Its misremembering your own life on purpose. How true. And how effed up. And how memorable.

All right, all right, all right. Thats the way it should be not Alright. So who cares about the bastardization of the English language? I dont know who else is giving this five stars but they must be out of their mind. I bought this book on impulse and if anybody wants to buy it from me I will sell it for five dollars. Its not even worth that! The book is organized poorly and keeping track of so many characters is just too big a challenge. Each chapter begins with a narrative and then ends with a bunch of related quotes, none of which really add to the narrative because the reader keeps thinking, Who was this? It is a fun book to flip through, and might make for good reading if I am ever stranded on a desert isle.

Its also disappointing because I grew up in northeast Texas (Greenville, Richardson) and graduated in from Lake Highlands HS in 1973, so I can semi-relate to things like getting licks and buying beer when I was 16. Yes, a lot of work went into this, but sadly the work is wasted because its just so poorly organized. Save your money and watch the movie.

* I want to edit my review because I just saw some really horrible reviews that don’t make any sense to me. I would advise you not to purchase this book unless you are a very big fan of the film and want a behind-the-scenes account of the experiences of everyone involved with it. If you aren’t looking to experience the minutiae and gossip and technicalities of the entire project and its Legacy, you might hate the book. Buying the book blindly and then reviewing it on the basis that you casually enjoy the film is not fair to the book. And you definitely shouldn’t buy this book if you haven’t seen the film before.

I bought this because this has become my favorite movie. Since the pandemic began I’ve seen the movie 50 more times. Also,In the pandemic it seems like I haven’t been able to enjoy my own life, and watching people in the middle of summer having a stereotypical High School field party has filled in what I’ve been missing personally.

Anyway, I began reading this book a couple of nights ago after purchasing it in November. And I stayed up all night and finished it at about 5 am. I haven’t read a book like that in years and years. It just went by. Almost the entire book is written in conversation, hence oral history I guess. And I had a very good time reading the gossip and the technicalities of a movie I really enjoyed. I would recommend it.

I am a huge fan of Dazed and Confused. I have read every book on it, watched every documentary, listened to every podcast. With this book, Melissa Maerz has quite definitively captured everything I had already known about the film, but also added a ton of info I was not aware of.

The book’s stories are primarily told through quotes attributed to the actors, producers, fans, makers of the movie. It covers everything from getting the movie made, casting, character development, how the set was run, how the marketing was done as well as the dirt from behind the scenes with the actors and hookups etc.

She also adds some great perspective on the film from the authors point of view. A favorite quote is “This movie is a period piece, but the period isn’t the ’70s–its the period in everyone’s life between 14 and 17” that really sums up the movies timeless appeal.

If you even remotely liked Dazed and Confused or are a fan of movies and moviemaking in general this is a must read. I cannot recommend this book enough.

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